Harper: NASCAR feeling the pinch like the rest of us

Mike Harperfor the Daily Newsspinoutzone@aol.com

Published 8:00 pm, Thursday, July 30, 2009

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Harper: NASCAR feeling the pinch like the rest of us

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Remember the phrase used in politics, "It's the economy, stupid"? Well, we don't need to look far to find someone we know being affected by today's economic environment. And even those in NASCAR are not immune to what's happening with the economy, as some found out this week.

Several major companies decided to pull the plug on their racing sponsorships ranging, from race title sponsorships to team sponsorships - jolting the attention of those within the sport.

Dewalt Power Tools announced last week that it would not renew an agreement with Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Ford Fusion after this season. Les Ireland, President of the North American Power Tools and Accessories Group for Dewalt, said: "Our decision to discontinue the sponsorship, while a difficult one, will help us to continue delivering value to our customers and end users, while managing our financial results."

The news wasn't good for a Roush organization dealing with a new NASCAR mandate: that beginning next season an owner can only operate four Sprint Cup Series teams. Roush currently maintains five teams and had just put a plan in place to dismantle its No. 26 team, including not renewing its agreement with driver Jamie McMurray. His sponsor, Crown Royal, had not renewed its agreement to return to Roush after this season.

Roush Fenway Racing president Geoff Smith commented last week about facing these issues: "Sponsorship is going to kind of determine whether or not the No. 17 (Kenseth) or the No. 26 (McMurray) are going to have to be the teams we shut down."

Late this week, Crown Royal renewed its sponsorship and Roush announced it would replace Dewalt with Crown Royal on the No. 17. This means Kenseth stays and McMurray will be the odd man out at Roush.

While the news is better for Roush, it's not great. Crown Royal will only sponsor 18 of the 36 races, leaving Kenseth without funding for half of the 2010 season.

Also, Lowe's Home Improvement is expected to announce that it will not renew its naming-rights agreement with Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., ending an 11-year relationship with the speedway. With earnings having dropped 60 percent in the last quarter of 2008, Lowe's has been hit hard. Its agreement to sponsor Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 is up for renewal at the end of the 2010 season, but Lowe's is expected to renew. It's not every day that a sponsor gets the opportunity to land the hottest driver in motorsports, so in my opinion, unless Lowe's is broke, it will retain the No. 48 sponsor.

Allstate announced this week that it will end its sponsorship with Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the title sponsor for the Brickyard 400. In a statement, the company cited its desire to expand its college football and Olympic sponsorships as the reason for ending the agreement. But industry insiders have expressed that the rising costs of speedway operations and racing purses could also be the cause of sponsorship losses.

And the challenges continue. Jack Daniel's, Ask.com, General Motors and Dodge are evaluating the value of their racing sponsorships. NASCAR's biggest challenge will be adapting to the current environment. Just as American families cut back to make ends meet, NASCAR will need to do the same. Its success depends on it.

• Most Popular Driver: The votes are in, and even though he sits 22nd in the Sprint Cup Series and remains winless this season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is NASCAR's most popular driver for the 2009 season.

"I think back when I made the decision to go to Hendrick Motorsports, my biggest concern was whether the fans would support my decision," Earnhardt said. "They did, and I will always be grateful for that."

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Mike Harper is a Sanford resident whose website - spinoutzone.com - is popular among NASCAR fans. His NASCAR updates can be heard on WHEELZ 104.5 FM every Monday and Friday at 11:45 a.m. Email Harper at spinoutzone@aol.com.